Prose and Cons
by musicnotes093
Summary: Leo is gradually losing interest with the classes, the academy, and the bionic world in general, and Bree wants to know why. As she digs deeper, she discovers a side of his world that is pun-filled, a little alliterative, consistently contradictory, and – is someone sending him cryptic messages?
1. round one

**Title:** _"_ _Prose and Cons"_

 **Rating:** T

 **Genre:** friendship, mystery

 **Character(s):** Bree and Leo, mainly, but there are OCs and the regulars

 **Pairing(s):** none, I think...?

 **Summary:** Leo is gradually losing interest with the classes, the academy, and the bionic world in general, and Bree wants to know why. As she digs deeper, she discovers a side of his world that is pun-filled, a little alliterative, consistently contradictory, and – is someone sending him _cryptic_ messages?

 **Notes:** There's a hidden intent in this, and it has a lot to do with what's coming up in a few weeks. I won't reveal just yet what it is, but here's a clue: this is to stir interest. Interest in what exactly, you guys will find out soon enough. Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It's actually pretty fun! It's something that will be going on in Shadowplay.

This is also written because there are a few things about Leo that seemed to have been buried as the seasons went by. This is just to bring it back to the fore in addition to featuring the really good friendship that Bree and Leo had once upon a time.

Okay, with that almost full disclosure out of the way, hope you guys enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** Anything publicly recognizable is not mine. (Actually, there will be a Works Cited note at the very end of this story.) All I own here are the plot, the OCs, and a few original works. :)

* * *

 _round one._

Bree watched her brother with a mild frown as she held onto her stopwatch. It was the third class of the day, a training period, and all the students were preoccupied with the activities that their mentors had given them. Leo seemed to be the exception. Or, at least, he had made himself become one. Whereas his peers focused on the dummies, shields, and other protective gear, he was focused on his phone, a grin on his face as he read something.

Given, that he wasn't assigned to any mentor was partially their fault. It didn't even come to her that none of them had taken in their younger brother until lately, and Adam and Chase had yet to notice. She guessed it was because they were carried away by the excitement of it all. For the first time in years, they were going to be the teachers! And to a group of teenagers like them, no less! There were so many lessons to plan and so many acquaintances to make that everything else sort of faded into the background.

Still, Bree didn't get why he would be this disinterested in something that the rest looked forward to. He used to like trainings. He usually took this as his platform to prove that he should be more than just a beginner in rank. Now he would just sit in a corner, either typing on his tablet or texting on his phone. It was as if he didn't want to be bothered anymore.

"Bree? Bree? Excuse me."

A light touch on her arm jolted the speedster out of her thoughts, making her flinch.

Kate immediately drew back her hand, afraid she had done something offensive. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"No, no. You didn't do anything wrong," Bree told her. Looking around, she saw that her students were eyeing her warily and worriedly. To assure them, she said with a small smile, "I'm sorry. I got distracted. Where were we again?"

"Stealth. How fast we can tie up the bad guys without our speed," a student named Holly answered. "We're supposed to time Dev and Toby."

"Oh, um…" Bree glanced down at the stopwatch. The numbers were still climbing. She clicked on it, and it froze. She was moved to tell the two boys to try again, but she decided she wouldn't be able to pay attention. "Please untie Dev, and then let's take a ten minute break, okay?"

Her students, though puzzled, did what they were told.

After they had left the training area, Bree resumed watching her brother closely. With his phone put away, he had redirected his focus to a book she vaguely remembered him bringing back from when he left the island. Once again, he was oblivious to the world around him.

That made her brows furrow. What could be more important than training?

It was then that Adam walked up to her, closely followed by Chase. "Hey, why did you release your students already? The class had barely started," her older brother asked. He shrugged then added, "Not that I'm opposed to breaks or anything, but the bros are kind of looking at me and waiting to see if I could let them go for a break, too."

"Yeah, same with my class," Chase agreed.

"Do you guys notice anything different with Leo?" Bree asked.

Taking a long glance at their stepbrother, Adam shook his head. "Nope. I don't," he said.

Chase, however, said with a frown, "Well, he does complain less lately."

"He complains _a lot_ less lately," Bree pointed out. "He barely talks to anyone, and he doesn't participate as much."

Leo suddenly closed his book then picked up his belongings and left. "Is that so bad?" Adam asked after he was gone. "He doesn't whine as much about his rank. Isn't that good?"

"Yeah. Maybe he's just learned to accept it," Chase said.

 _That's not what it seems like to me,_ Bree thought but didn't say.

Knowing what his sister may be thinking, Chase patted her on the shoulder. "He's gonna be okay. Let's enjoy the silence for the meantime," he said. He smirked. "Don't worry. Soon enough he's gonna find something to complain about."

When her brothers returned to their students, Bree was left wondering when the three of them had started drifting so far away from their younger stepsibling.

* * *

"Man, I'm so pumped. This is so exciting!"

"Yeah, yeah. New activity, your idea, it's exciting. Settle down."

Bree stepped out of her capsule after getting changed into the new training suit, one that their father specifically designed for the Capture the Flag game that Adam (Adam!) came up with. She chuckled as she watched her older and younger brother also step out in their new outfits, checking it out while still managing a little banter. She had to admit, the layout of the new game had her looking forward to it. That their students felt the same way, maybe even more, added to the thrill.

Chase looked up after his exchange with Adam, and quickly what he saw wiped the grin out of his face. "Leo?" he said with a frown. "What are you doing? Why aren't you getting ready?"

Leo looked up from his book, uninclined in the slightest to move away from his cozy couch-slash-bed. "'Cause I'm not going," he said simply.

That he was not wearing his new suit but his favorite jeans and shirt instead didn't escape Bree's notice.

"Why not?" Adam asked, puzzled.

Leo hitched his shoulders and went back to what he was reading. "I don't want to," he said.

"You know this counts towards your rank, right? This could seriously help or hurt you with your level," Chase reasoned.

Leo smiled. "'Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy.'"

Chase crossed his arms. "Albert Einstein."

"Except this time, instead of stripes with plaid, it's wearing yellow patches."

"Why are you reading anyway?" Adam suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked. "What's wrong with reading?"

"Nothing. Just – Reading just seems to be Chase's thing."

"Reading can be anyone's thing, Adam. A person doesn't have to be a genius to like it." He smirked. "This is not _Divergent_ , you know." Pulling off the throw covering him, he got up from the couch. "You guys enjoy the game," he said sincerely, walking off towards a quieter place.

"What was that about?" Chase asked as the doors closed behind Leo.

Adam shrugged, his mind already on the activity that was set to start shortly.

Bree, on the other hand, was more convinced than ever that something was going on that they didn't know about.

* * *

She caught him sneaking out one night. Thinking that everybody was asleep, he slinked out of the academy, a shovel in one hand and a flashlight in the other. She waited until he was far enough before following him. She was very careful in trailing. He seemed to be extra wary of his surroundings, so she had to be more cautious than he. When he stopped, she hid behind a dense conglomeration of palm trees.

He dug for a good ten minutes before stopping. Peeking out from her hiding place, she saw him kneeling by the hole, reaching downwards and pulling something out.

It was a box, a sizeable one. He dusted it off before opening it, took out something from his pocket, something she couldn't quite see, and then placed it inside. For a moment, he only stared. "It's just a matter of time," she heard him saying quietly. "You're not going to be buried forever."

Then, he closed the box, replaced it under the shadows a few feet under, and then pushed back the load of the cold sands above it.

He came back to the Quarters a few minutes after she did, still under the impression that the rest of the island was ignorant of what he had done.

Even long after he had gone back to softly snoring, she was still awake. What was happening with her brother? Besides the truth about Marcus, he had never hidden anything from them. At least not until now.

She was honestly concerned. What was he keeping from them?

* * *

A few weeks later, loud, terrified screaming from one of the classrooms interrupted her and Adam's training session. Concerned and on high alert, she and the oldest rushed out to see what was going on, only to find a half ring of students slowly backing away from something on the floor. "What's going on here?" she asked as the two of them broke through the front of the mass.

On the floor, they saw a small shoe box, the box and the lid a good three feet from each other. Not too far from it was a pitch black creature with pinchers and a stinger, wriggling as it attempted to get off its back and into its legs.

"Whoa," Adam said under his breath, stepping back just as Chase and Leo joined the commotion.

"What's going—oh," Chase said, staring at the arachnid. He looked up with furrowed brows, searching the faces of the students closer to it. "Who brought that in here?"

Spin shook his head fervently when the mentor looked at him. "No one! It was inside the box that came!" he said, terrified of both the creature and the teenager.

"A box? You opened someone's package again?" Bree asked.

Spin only looked away.

"What is it?" Bob asked, leaning towards it.

Adam held him back. "It's a big cockroach. Believe me, it's not as cute as it looks," he said.

"Who was this for?" Chase asked Spin.

Spin didn't answer, only turned his eyes guiltily on Leo.

Soon enough, everyone's attention was on the youngest of the four siblings. "Why would Tasha send you a cockroach?" Adam asked.

"It's not a cockroach, Adam," Bree said.

"It's a scorpion," Chase finished. He nodded at Spin. "Was there any card or message on the box?"

"There was a small card. It just says 121."

Instead of clearing the matter for the super genius, it only complicated the puzzle further. He sighed. "Alright, everyone head on—"

"Did you say 121?" Leo asked, a ponderous expression on his face.

"Yeah?"

Leo's brows furrowed further as he quickly took out his phone from his pocket then quickly typed in something. Half a minute later, the frown on his face was gone. " _In cauda venenum,_ " he said.

"'The poison is in the tail.' I know," Chase said, slightly irritated. "That's why everyone needs to head on out. We'll let you guys know when it's been taken away."

The students took this as their signal to clear out. Leo, however, did the opposite: he went towards the creature.

"What are you doing?" Chase asked, the slight panic in his tone causing others to turn back around.

Unfazed, the teenager picked up the animal by the tail. It continued to wiggle, but only in the same way it had been doing the past five minutes. A number of students gasped as Leo sat it on his shoulder. He only grinned at it. "Aw, is everyone afraid of you?" he asked it, nearly laughing.

"Leo, that _thing_ is gonna sting you!" Bree said angrily.

"No, it's not. It's just dancing! Besides, it's just a toy. At least I hope so anyways," Leo said, giving the lifelike item a cautious, sideway glance. He then smirked at Spin. "There are no guarantees it won't be alive the next time," he said before walking off, a content look on his face, the scorpion still wriggling on his shoulder.

* * *

Bree knew she shouldn't be reading his messages. Doing so would be breaching into his personal space and breaking his trust, but he had just been so uninterested with almost everything lately.

It was just one message. She wasn't even going to go through his phone. It was on the coffee table, where she – or anyone, for that matter – could easily see it. She was just going to read the one that he had received, the one that was up on the screen.

 _You have done very well. I am pleased with your work. Your next assignment will come shortly._

It was from someone nicknamed K.

 _K? No. It can't be Krane. Krane's dead,_ she thought. _Isn't he?_

It came to her then that they never found a body.

* * *

"Roses are red, violets are blue. Candy is sweet, and so are you."

Spin narrowed his eyes. "That sounds way too close to the original," he noted.

Bob shrugged, pocketing the piece of paper. "I don't know. I kinda like it," he said. "Chase said that those dead guys wrote what they knew of and how they felt. Candy's sweet, Bree is too. You never know. She'll probably like it. Won't you Breezy?"

Bree only rolled her eyes and kept her focus on the campfire ahead.

They decided that Friday night to let the students spend some relaxation time by the beach. With their father's approval, they made three separate campfires, big enough to sit at least a group of ten and to sufficiently light the area. She and Adam had been assigned to keep watch over the students, what with Chase being engaged in another project with their father, but her brother immediately forgot his duties after someone suggested a game of volleyball.

"You're criticizing Bob's poem. What about you?" Charlie challenged with a chuckle. "What did you come up with?"

"I didn't come up with anything," Spin simply said.

"Why not? It's due Monday," one of his sisters, Penelope, pointed out.

"Because, I don't get the point of it." With the awkward pause that followed, he scoffed. "Come on, I can't be the only one who thinks it."

"Well…" Ray said hesitatingly after another exchange of glances, "I mean, yeah. I kinda don't see the point of it either. The poems we've read are all, you know, complicated and rhyming. I don't understand it."

There was a mumble of agreement, with someone even saying, "No one talks like that. At least not anymore."

"See?" Spin said. "We're all on the same page."

"Maybe you're just not reading it the way it's meant to be read."

The group at the campfire, even Bree and some of the girls in her circle, looked up at Leo.

"What do you mean? How else is it supposed to be read?" Spin asked disdainfully.

The teenager, who stood at a distance with a powered off game console in his hand, replied, "You need to read it slowly, take time to understand it."

"That kinda sounds lame," one of the boys said.

"And sappy," someone added.

"Maybe that's why his girlfriend broke up with him. He's _sweet_ ," came another comment, cuing giggles and laughter.

Leo rolled his eyes and then turned to head back inside.

Bree was about to chastise the group when Bob stood up and said, "Dude, where are you going? You can't just leave us hanging." When Leo swiveled back towards them, he asked, "How _do_ you read it?"

Leo glared at the students that laughed before saying, "I don't think anyone else is interested in my opinion, Bob."

"I'm interested," Kate said, her hand raised.

"You know, oddly enough, I am, too," Donovan said with a smile.

At first, Leo didn't seem very motivated to share his thoughts, especially with all that made fun of him on the ready to pounce again. Soon, however, he decided to acquiesce. He turned on his game console and then typed in something. "Here. Read this," he said, tossing the gadget to the student that made the derisive comment.

The boy read the first line. Immediately, he made a disgusted face. "What?" he said. "See, this is what we're talking about. These people don't just say what they mean. It's dumb."

Leo gestured for the device, and the guy tossed it back.

"What does it say?" Heather, one of the girls in Bree's group, asked.

" _I do not love you, except, because, I love you,_ " Leo read. He held up his hand firmly before another negative comment could be made. " _I go from loving to not loving you, from waiting to not waiting for you. My heart moves from cold to fire. I love you—only because it's you the one I love. I hate you deeply_ , a _nd hating you – bend to you – and the measure of my changing love for you is that I do not see you but love you blindly._

 _"_ _Maybe January light will consume my heart with its cruel ray, stealing my key to true calm._

 _"_ _In this part of the story, I am the one who dies. And I will die of love because I love you."_ He looked up after turning off the game console. " _Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood,_ " he finished with a long glance at the watching crowd.

"That sounds…legit," Charlie commented with a nod.

"Yeah, but what does it mean?" a student named Steven asked. "Like, does he love this girl or does he hate her?"

"Both." Leo scratched his head before further explaining, "Um, well, sometimes being in love is complicated. You find this person that you like, and then you start to really like them. It just grows and grows until it gets to the point that you're just finding reasons not to fall in love with that person. But then it happens, and you end up with that girl – or boy, whatever – and you think it's all happy. Even when you see that she doesn't love you the way you love her, you convince yourself that it's okay, you can just overlook it. You'll have times when you realize that it's so stupid, hoping for someone who doesn't care for you very much to care, but then you just get stuck in that, in hoping."

Leo sighed, and Bree could tell from the sadness in his eyes that he was thinking of Janelle. "Then it all ends, and you feel like a loser because you've always known it wasn't going to happen. The worst part is that you never stop loving her, even if she had forgotten about you," he said. A broken smile came to his face. "That's the part that kills. To that person it never happened, but you it never ends."

Seeing the sad and sympathetic expressions on the others' faces, he feigned apathy and only said, "Anyways, the point is that poems don't always have to rhyme, so you have no excuse for not doing your homework."

"Have you done yours?" Penelope asked.

"Maybe," Leo cryptically said before going back inside the building, engaged once again with the racing game he was playing earlier.

* * *

Two girls were waiting at the entrance of the Living Quarters the next morning.

"Heather, Shelby. May I help you girls?" Bree asked with smile.

Heather peeked in before replying, "Is Leo here?"

Bree looked back and saw him lounged on one of the beach chairs, sunglasses on, Adam and Chase on either side of him as they painted on his face. _He really does sleep like the dead,_ she thought. "He is, but he's unavailable at the moment," she told the girls instead. She frowned. "Why do you need to see him?"

The two girls exchanged knowing glances. "Oh, we were just wondering if he could help us with something," Heather said. "Can you please tell him we stopped by?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks." And with that, they were gone.

Bree's brows quirked as she looked at Leo again. Then, she smirked.

She had a strong feeling that Janelle would soon be a thing of the past for her little brother.


	2. round two

_Thanks to Susz, EmeraldTulip, AlienGhostWizard14, and ABEDFAN-Farkle Minkus for the reviews! Correspondences will come after the story is finished. :)_

* * *

 _round two._

"Couldn't you have at least bumped him up to intermediate?"

"No, we can't do that," Chase said. "That wouldn't be fair to others. It could be looked at as nepotism."

Bree sighed in dismay before turning her sights to the stretch of beach below. The results of the first quarter assessment were out, and Leo remained at beginner. Given, he wasn't the only one who retained their rank, but she thought he could've at least been leveled up one place higher. In her honest opinion, he had been exercising greater control over his abilities. His interest in mastering and learning more about it left much to be desired, unfortunately, but interest was not a criterion anyway.

Plus, it was exactly why they needed to give him a boost. His motivation in anything academy-related was still on a steady decline. An incentive, an evidence that his efforts hadn't and wouldn't be wasted, might just move him to aim for better things there.

Watching her brother now as he taught Bob and Spin how to fly a kite, she felt all the sorrier for him. "But he's doing so well," she said out loud without meaning to.

Chase shot her a deadpan look. "He's doing anything _but,_ " he said. "He's slacking off. You know that."

Bree turned to Adam for help, but all she got was an expression that was a cross between a smile and a wince. "Sorry, Bree, but Chasey's right. Leo rarely participates in class. He just either wanders off or just sits in a corner doing something else," he said. "He doesn't care anymore."

"Well, maybe we need to help him care."

"That's not our job," Chase told her.

"But it is when it comes to the other students? How fair is that?"

"And you can point your finger on us why?"

"Guys, come on, quit it," Adam refereed. "The last thing I want is to start acting like a responsible big brother to you two and get you to stop fighting. Haven't done it in years, and I'm not about to start now."

Chase, though still fuming, only resumed his work at the desktop.

Bree, on the other hand, was prepared to defend herself. She was moved to tell them of the text message and the buried box, but she realized that telling them would mean letting them into her personal investigation. So, settling with crossing her arms, she remained silent about the matter.

The hissing of the doors broke the thick silence hanging over them. Leo walked in with a grin on his face, but it wasn't long until he caught a whiplash of what remained from the argument. Furrowed brows adding to his unsure smile, he said, "Okay? Should I ask what happened here?"

Silence served as his only reply.

"Alright," he said. "Have any of you seen the kites that Mom sent me? There should be two more…"

Adam shook his head. "I haven't."

"Haven't seen it either," Bree said.

"Okay. Maybe I left it by the docks."

As he turned around to leave, the doors slid open once more, this time admitting their father and their uncle. The two snickered madly among themselves, which bewildered the youngest members of the family.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that the company closed a deal, and big money just came in," Leo commented.

"No, better," Douglas said.

Adam frowned. "There's something better than money for you guys?"

"Of course there are," said Donald. "But, specifically, Douglas and I are excited about the new update we just completed. It's something that would greatly affect your capsules and your chips."

As desired, those words immediately piqued the interest of the three.

Leo, meanwhile, only continued on his way out.

"Hey," Douglas said as he passed by. "Where are you going?"

"I need to look for something."

"You're not interested in knowing about the update?"

"You said chips and capsule. I have neither. It doesn't concern me, so I don't need to be here. Bob and Spin are also waiting for me." Looking at his stepfather, he asked, "May I go now?"

Donald nodded, letting Leo leave.

Bree was quick to pick up the concern clouding her father's face as he watched him go.

* * *

The second package came nine days later, after a mission-gone-wrong left him dependent on a crutch. The long, plain white box had _356_ scrawled at the corner. Inside were a bouquet of dead roses and a piece of paper, saying: _For your next stop._

Instead of expressing frustration or confusion like the rest of them did, Leo only smirked to himself.

* * *

Bree broke her promise: she dug for the box. She couldn't take not knowing anymore. Just the night before, she happened upon a conversation between Leo and their father. They didn't know she was there. They were outside, far enough that she couldn't hear what was said between the two. Nonetheless, the expressions on their faces spoke louder volumes.

Leo had a steadfast demeanor to him as he explained something.

Their father, on the other hand, appeared distressed.

She tried to subtly press for information later on, but her father only shook his head and carried on his work. She knew well that Leo wouldn't say anything.

So, after he left to visit the mainland for the weekend, she waited until midnight, took a flashlight and a shovel, and then searched for the box to unearth it. It took her nearly half an hour to find, but it had all been worth it once she opened it.

She didn't really know what she expected, but sheets of paper hadn't been it. Seeing the harmless compilation of notes surprised her so that she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Hoping they would still be revelatory, she sorted through a few.

 _101A_

 _Winter_

 _Streets covered in white_

 _Snowflakes descend on their stage_

 _As fire sings its hymn_

 _These are poems,_ Bree thought with a frown after sorting through a few. She moved onto the folded pieces of paper. Taking one that was folded in thirds and stapled together, she was set to unravel it when the sound of footfalls alerted her. She turned off her flashlight , waited, and sighed in relief when the person went the other direction. She turned on her light again, but she realized it wouldn't be long until Perry wandered off out there where she was. So, against her better instincts, she set aside the entry she wanted to read then placed the rest back to the box.

Once she was finished reburying it, she snuck back inside, the rest of the populace in the island none the wiser.

* * *

 ** _"The Prisoner of Cell 41798"_**

 _Death was coming for him. It was running towards him at an unstoppable and vicious speed. Yet, he wasn't frightened. In fact, he had long known it was coming – though not quite in the manner that all men did. Almost everyone alive is aware they are going to die. However, they don't know when or how._

 _He did. He knew when, how, and even why._

 _He was going to die today, half an hour from now, for the crimes that the man he once was committed._

Unlike the shorter works in the box, the one that she had gotten was a short story. She read it the next day when she was out by the pool, alone. It was still in its rough draft form, but it was still excellent, in her opinion. Did Leo really write it? The same seventeen year-old who had an extreme fascination with comic books and technology and who cringed at projects in high school that centered on writing essays? _That_ younger brother?

It wasn't that she didn't believe he could deliver a piece like the one she had before her. Well, okay, she kind of did – but she didn't know her brother had a true penchant for the written arts.

 _I guess that's just one of the many things I don't know about you,_ Bree said inwardly as she thought of her brother and the many mysteries building up around him.


	3. round three

_Thanks to Susz, ABEDFAN-Farkle Minkus, EmeraldTulip, and LRW for the reviews. :)_

* * *

 _round three._

Bree looked up as Leo laughed. She watched him closely as he leisurely walked around the pool area, phone stuck to his ear as he continued talking to whoever he had been talking to for the past half hour. She had to admit, those prolonged phone calls were starting to irritate her. Ever since he came back from the mainland, Leo hadn't stopped talking. That wouldn't have been unusual, if not for the fact that the ones he constantly spoke to were people who didn't even live on the island.

Chase had learned to ignore it, but she knew that he was just trying to mask the fact that their brother obviously drifting away from them was freaking him out. Unlike him, she and Adam didn't ignore; they only became more impatient with their stepbrother.

"Is he gonna talk all day on the phone or what?" Adam asked moodily.

"He probably will. As long as it's a very convenient excuse not to talk to anyone that's actually here, he'll probably do it," Chase commented, not looking away from his tablet.

Leo laughed again. "You're right, you're right. I—" He paused for a moment to look at the phone screen. Puzzled by what he saw, he said, "Uh, Diya? I'm gonna have to call you back. Can you tell Tin Lizzie it's on the sixth? Okay, thanks. Alright. Bye. …Yes, hello?"

"He could make a serious career out of answering phone calls," Chase muttered.

Adam scoffed in agreement before turning to his breakfast.

"Wait, _what?_ " Leo exclaimed excitedly. "Seriously? You're not kidding?" He chuckled in disbelief before responding with, "No, no, I'm—Oh, I just… This never happens to me. …Yes. …Yes, you can. Um, if nothing changes I will be there. Thank you very much. You have a great day, too. See you then."

"Hey," Bree called to him as he briskly crossed the room. "What's up?"

Leo slowly shook his head and shrugged. "Nothing, it's – it's nothing important."

"That didn't sound like it was nothing important," Adam said.

"It's…really nothing," Leo said, still with a grin as he backed up. "I kinda need to make a phone call. I'll talk to you guys later."

Adam huffed after he jogged away. He shook his head in frustration as he stirred his bowl of cereal a little too heatedly.

Bree settled back on her seat and frowned at her own plate. She wondered how comely it would be if she 'accidentally' smashed her little brother's phone to pieces after he goes to sleep that night.

* * *

Another argument between Adam and Chase resulted in both of them having to rest for three days due to their injuries. Those wouldn't have been too much of a hindrance for the two, but unfortunately for them (and fortunately for her), the most recent fight got on their father's nerves so much that the punishment they received was heavier. Since grounding was out of the question, they were sentenced to something equally restrictive: both of them were _banned_ from the island for a week and were required to complete a job at the company's construction site after they recovered.

For her, it was a dream come true for the first two days. She had the Living Quarters almost all by herself (because Leo still needed somewhere to sleep), and there were no brothers always quarrelling as if they were five year-olds.

Then, reality set in, and it dawned on her that with Adam and Chase gone, numerous classes were left unmanned.

Thankfully, Douglas was willing to help when she asked. He took over Adam's classes albeit with a method of teaching that was definitely mad, unconventional, and yet effective. Though that lessened her burden significantly, she still had Chase's classes to consider. She thought about having one of the brainiacs step in to fill their mentor's shoes, but a better idea came to her.

"Leo, can you teach Chase's classes while he's gone?" she asked him one night while they were eating dinner.

Needless to say, the open staring that resulted sufficed as an answer.

She didn't regret doing it, especially as she saw how happy he was. The grin on his face as he donned one of the extra mentor jackets was priceless. For the first time in months, he was excited again for something that was related to the academy, and that was wonderful to her.

As the day rolled on, however, she did begin to worry about how he would handle the classes. Chase had been very thorough with lesson planning, but she wasn't sure if he left any of those plans accessible for his stand-in. There were many things to cover, and even though she knew that Leo was smart, she didn't want him to be overwhelmed.

With her worries getting the best of her, she decided to drop in on one of his afternoon classes where he would have most of the youngest students in the academy. She somewhat expected to find him at his wits' end by then, or at least the students, led by Spin (the two of them could be as bad as Adam and Chase sometimes), ignoring him while he tried to teach. Instead, she found them working silently, concentrating hard on what they were writing. Leo was reading a book.

It was so unusual that she was tempted to take a picture.

"What's going on here?" she asked Leo quietly.

"A class, Bree," Leo said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. I just meant what they're doing. What are they working on?"

"Popsicle sticks."

"Popsicle sticks?"

Leo nodded, standing up. He picked up then held out to her a Mason jar. "Pick one that's yellow and one that's red," he said.

She frowned but did what he asked nonetheless. "'John Watson.' 'The Golden Ratio,'" she read on each.

"Oh, I wanted that one," Sylvia commented with a chuckle, her feet swinging beneath her seat while she wrote.

Bree's brows furrowed further. "You're teaching them to write?"

Leo nodded. "Not just that. I'm introducing them to a specific genre," he said. "I'm introducing them to fanfiction."

"Fanfiction? Why?"

"Why not?" Leo said with a shrug. "Fanfictions are great springboards. It gives them a template to work with while mixing in their own ideas. Soon enough they'll be comfortable with forming their originals."

"Hmm, I don't know about this. I mean, I'm not against it or anything, but Chase might not like it."

"He left them on their own to build their story, Bree. I had to give them something so it's not as intimidating and confusing," Leo reasoned.

Bree continued to hesitate despite the good effects evidenced before her. "Is it working?" she asked.

"I don't know. You judge," Leo said. He walked towards the girl on the corner then asked, "How far have you gotten, Jessie J?"

"Almost done," Jessie replied.

"You mind if Bree takes a look at it?"

Jessie was reluctant and slightly embarrassed but handed over the paper anyways.

After taking it, Bree read.

 _Prompt: Barry Allen (The Flash), roses._

 _Everything in his life seems to be scarlet-colored. He remembers the first time the color made an impression on him. It was the summer before he started fifth grade. His Dad and Mom surprised him with a new backpack. It was red, with streaks of yellow on it. He loved that backpack. It stood out from the rest. He carried it proudly, and he used it for the next few years of school until ninth grade, when Joe gave him a new one with the same colors._

"Wow. This is good, Jess," Bree commended, handing it back to her.

"Thanks," the girl said with a smile. "Leo, do you mind if I use this same prompt for Chase's fiction project? I kinda wanna take that color idea it gave me for this one character I've been working on."

"Of course I don't mind."

"Thanks."

"What about you, Spin? What do you have?" Bree asked.

"'The Lion King', 'to guard and protect,'" Spin answered, not looking up.

"You finally got an idea?" Leo asked.

"Of course I did," Spin said. "It's about a young lion, and he and a few other younger animals are involved in keeping the others in the kingdom safe."

"Like a Lion Guard?" Bob asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Spin replied.

"Hm. I kinda like it," Bob said thoughtfully before moving on with his own.

Leo quirked his brows. "Told you," he said to his sister.

Bree shook her head, smirking. "Yeah, yeah. Is this all you're gonna be doing for the next four days?"

"No. I've got a nature documentary to show, linear functions to teach, and social institutions to explain." Leo smiled widely. "I heard those things were important."

Bree chuckled. "Alright," she said, walking away with the confidence that her stepbrother had everything under control.

* * *

"Hey. Psst! Prim and Proper! Over here."

Bree spun around and found Perry scowling through the small gap at the door of the surveillance room. The woman waved her over fervidly, which did nothing to lower her cautiousness. She frowned as she reluctantly came closer. "Perry? What—"

Perry quickly pulled her into the dim room before shutting the door. The ex-principal pointed a finger at her. "Do you have reason to believe that Short Stack could be doing something behind your back?" she interrogated.

"Short Stack? Are you talking about Chase?"

"No. Shorter."

Bree narrowed her eyes. "You're not talking about Leo, are you?"

"Bingo," Perry said as she walked over one of the surveillance screens.

"You know he's not very far from being as tall as Adam," Bree pointed out. "And he's not done growing."

"Whatever. He's always going to be Short Stack to me," Perry said, typing something in.

Bree took a chance to scan her surroundings. To her memory, that room wasn't supposed to be that dark. It seemed to her as if the 'Head of Security' had turned it into a covert den dedicated to cracking down on whoever she would deem deserving. As her eyes skimmed through the squares of videos on the screen, she noticed something unsettling. "Are you seriously _stalking_ Douglas?" she asked, gaping at the columns of live feed focused on her sleeping uncle.

"You call that stalking, I call it keeping an eye on my man," Perry said with a shrug. She dramatically clicked Enter then pointed at a frozen recording on the screen. "I was looking through the videos last night because I was bored, and I found this footage taken from two nights ago." She hit Enter again.

The video showed Leo by the hydroloop, his back on the camera. He was talking to someone she couldn't clearly see due to the hall – and the rest of the building – being dark. Only the moonlight coming in through the window revealed a suggestion of a silhouette. The person was shorter than Leo, and he or she was lean. As the person spoke, Leo periodically glanced around.

The conversation didn't go on for very long, four minute tops. The door of the transport system opened once they moved. Before the person could board, Leo stopped them. He took out something from his pocket then handed it over. From the dull glare on the metallic part of the item, Bree was able to conclude that it was a flash drive. The person nodded, and then boarded.

Perry paused it, and from the partial yet perfect view, Bree saw that the person was dressed in all black. "I was going to grill Dooley about this, but I figured one of you might be able to do a better job at it," the woman said. "Any idea who he just allowed in at the island at 1:30 in the morning?"

 _No,_ Bree thought as she crossed her arms, conflicted. _I don't know who this person is, but I know who they might be working for._

After all, it hadn't been long since the students there in the academy were dressed in the same way that faceless person was.


	4. round four

_Thank you to everyone who left a review: LRW, Susz, ABEDFAN-Farkle Minkus, EmeraldTulip, AlienGhostWizard14, and aliqueen16!_

 _Looong note at the end._

* * *

 _round four._

Leo got off the hydroloop as if he couldn't get away from them fast enough. He hopped out before the door could even fully open and walked ahead, yanking his gloves off brashly. Bree knew he was livid with them, very much so, but what they had done was for the best. They did it out of concern for him.

After seeing the video, she finally decided to let her brothers in on the things she had found out. She told them about the texts and reminded them of the packages, but she didn't tell them about the box and its contents. From what they had, Adam and Chase were able to form their own conclusions. They suspected and even feared what she had feared: their brother may just be working alongside Krane. Chase also brought out that he had done a system check the night Leo met up with the unknown person, and he noticed that some files had been copied from the desktop and transferred to an outside medium. The flash drive was a perfect fit.

Since they believed that they had reasonable cause, the three of them agreed on keeping a very keen eye on their stepbrother. They also agreed to keep him as busy and in their sight as much as possible until they find out the truth. They may not know why he would betray them, but they knew that they cared about him enough that they would give him every chance there was not to do it.

He was a good person, they were sure of that. Maybe he was just holding onto something that was slowly poisoning that fact.

It was easy the first five days, but soon Leo began to want to leave for the mainland again. They gave him many activities, and he did do them albeit unwillingly. However, the longer it went, the more the whole process became like pulling teeth.

Today, he was adamant that he was going to leave, but thankfully a mission alert came in. Leo insisted that the three of them could go since it was a relatively easy assignment. If they really needed a fourth one, Alex, the current top student in the ranks, could go in his stead.

Though it was brutal, they forced him to come, and Chase did so by using his own conscience against him.

So Leo went. It seemed that he would have had enough time to come back and had his 'plan' for the night work out, but Adam got them lost on purpose. For an hour and a half, they went around town, driving in circles, and only came to the entry station for the hydroloop once it was already very evident that their brother's schedule had been ruined.

Leo didn't speak to them the rest of the way to the island, even if he was addressed directly. He didn't even look at them.

And now, as he had just made obvious to them, he didn't even want to be in the same room as them.

"Leo, slow down," Adam called to him patiently.

Leo didn't. He kept going until he saw his mother, with their father waiting beside her, get up from the hallway couch. He stopped then, and so did they. His mother, who appeared disappointed and upset, opened her mouth to say something, but he only shook his head. "Not right now, Mom," he said, sounding exhausted and more disappointed than her. He caught a glimpse of what was in her hand, and it disheartened him more. "I'm sorry. I really tried. I'm sorry." He shook his head again as he briskly walked down the hall, away from everyone.

"Where did you come from?" their father asked them, notably upset, too.

"A mission in Bakersfield," Chase answered warily.

"Did you take your brother with you?"

"Yes."

"Did he tell you he couldn't go?"

The three of them exchanged cautious looks. "Well," Adam braved to answer, "we needed a fourth person."

"So you _forced_ him to come."

"Why are you mad at us, Mr. Davenport? We just wanted him to come along," Chase said, concerned about the emotion he was reading from his father.

Their father sighed, and it somehow turned the dread they felt into something ten times worse.

"Hey, Donny, Tasha," Douglas said when he walked in. His brows hitched. "You guys look awfully fancy tonight. Making sure you looked good on the pictures, weren't you?"

It was only then that Bree really noticed her parents' attires. They weren't dressed very formal, but their father did have a nice powder blue dress shirt on while their mother wore a purple polka dot dress and pearls.

"He had somewhere to be tonight, with us," their father answered Chase patiently. "He really needed to be there, and from his reaction, I can tell he also _wanted_ to be there. Didn't he tell you about it?"

Adam and Chase only shook their heads.

Their mother sighed. "Oh, you guys," she said. "You should have let him go. He was supposed to be in an awards dinner. People from Mission Creek Inquirer were there, and we and two good friends of his were there, too. We were all waiting."

"Awards dinner?" Chase repeated. "For what?"

"You guys didn't know?" Douglas asked. "Leo won first prize. Teen nonfiction. They were going to have a small awards ceremony thing. He's getting a seventy-five dollar cash prize."

"They're also going to pay for a three-day Writers' Workshop at the state university," their father added. "They also published a small booklet that had all the winning entries in there. I was going to tell him that I'm willing to pay for the two days of workshop the contest runners weren't going to pay for."

"So, he didn't get any of those because he didn't make it?" Adam asked.

"No, he still got it," their mother said, "but they wanted to take a picture of him for the website. They were going to publish a small Meet the Winners article online this Sunday on the Culture and Arts section, but because he wasn't there he's gonna end up not being shown at all."

Astonished and guilt-ridden, Chase reached out for the booklet, and his mother handed it over to him. "His entry starts on page 27," she told him.

"What is it about?" Adam asked.

"It's about us," their father said. "It's about how coming into our family changed his view of the world around him."

 _Making friends had never been an expertise. I guess it was due to my quirks. In many ways, my likes and dislikes, as well as my personality, were not what was widely accepted by other kids my age. Their confusion and dislike had always been clear, like the weather in an area sitting in the center of a storm. I couldn't really blame them. It was hard to navigate teenage years, and harder still as I tried to grasp the concept of being a man when I had no one to teach me. My mom worked her hardest to help, but I knew I couldn't just leave everything up to her. I had to try to learn on my own._

 _So I did, through trial and error. It wasn't long until the shots I made became too erratic that I became the cyclone that drove everyone else away._

 _But then,_ Leo wrote, _something happened: my mother fell in love with a man that loved her more, the best man I could ever wish for her, and, through the most unexpected circumstance, I also met the three people I had never stopped being thankful for._

 _Oh no,_ Bree thought regretfully. _What have I done?_

* * *

As it turned out, Leo had a hidden talent, and he was tremendously skilled at it: dodging people he didn't want to talk to. There was only one time when the three of them were able to catch up to him, but it was obviously because he let them. He knew well that they wanted to apologize, so he beat them to talking. "I know you guys wanted to settle what happened," he told them, "and I'm more than game for that, but not right now. Right now I just want to be left alone."

He left.

None of them followed.

Bree worried that he was that upset because he found out the real reason why they kept him from leaving. That would be bad, especially for her. She jumped into conclusions, and because of that one of the most important nights of his life had slipped through his fingers.

What made it worse was when Chase had finally decided to let their father and uncle know of their motive for doing what they did. Their uncle was neutral on the matter though very sympathetic of his youngest nephew, but their father was very unhappy, maybe even borderline angry. So they told them. Bree stated some of the evidences she found (still minus the box), and Chase said that they were only worried that Krane could be influencing their brother into hurting them.

Douglas frowned heavily. "Did you say copied files?"

"Yes."

"If you're talking about Wednesday, Thursday a week and a half ago, it was me. I was the one who did it," Douglas said.

"Yeah," their father agreed, "I asked for a compact copy to keep with me while I'm away on my business meeting. I wanted to check if the program we created is working." He shook his head. "Your brother couldn't have done it."

Then the three of them just felt like complete jerks.

After that fail of an attempt to redeem themselves, Bree couldn't sleep. She decided then that she was going to talk to him, whether he wanted to listen or not. It was necessary because he deserved to know what really happened. It was also for her own sanity.

She just wanted to explain. If he accepts, she'd be satisfied. If not, she would gracefully take the consequences of her actions.

The following evening, she was told that he left for the mainland. Bob, who was one of the last people to see him, said that Leo was dressed in dark clothes, like he had somewhere important to go to. He also said that her stepbrother told him that he would be back later on that night to 'finish what they had started.' Her past suspicions resurging, she immediately got on the hydroloop to look for her brother.

After searching the city for a good twenty minutes, she found him at the decrepit parking lot across one of the town's oldest bistro. He had just gotten out of his car and was crossing through when she got there. She tried to call to him, but she found she was out of breath.

However, the gust of wind that she brought with her alerted Leo. He turned around and saw her bent over, working to catch a breather. His brows furrowed. "Bree?"

Bree held up her index finger, asking for a moment. After she had sufficient air, she stood up straighter.

He narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't…Don't do it," Bree said, still panting slightly.

"Don't do what?" he asked. "Have you been looking for me?"

Bree nodded. That latest reprogram was really not working much wonders for her. "I know you're mad at us, but you can't do this. You're a good guy, Leo. You will always be. You know that," she said.

Confusion came to his features. It then flickered to thoughtfulness until eventually, vexation came to stay. Though, there was something synthetic about it. He crossed his arms. "And…what if I did choose to do this? You can't stop me," he said.

"Yes I can. If I have to, if _we_ have to, we will detain you," she said. Pleadingly, she said, "Leo, you have to understand. He doesn't have your best interest in mind, even if he says he does. He will get rid of you in a heartbeat. He doesn't care about you."

He scoffed. "Like you guys do."

"Of course we do. You're family. Even if it hadn't been smooth sailing these past few months, and even if it seems like we're neglecting you, we still love you. That's not gonna change for any of us. For me." She came closer. "You're my brother."

Leo took a moment to absorb what was said, thinking about it. Then, he uncrossed his arms with a shrug. "Okay, I give," he said. "I don't know what you're talking about, Bree. Not the family part; that I appreciate. I meant what you think I'm here for."

"Krane," she said somewhat protectively.

"Krane? What—" He glanced down on his attire and realized what it looked to her. "You think I'm working for him?"

Bree gave him a sympathetic look.

"Why would I do that? Why would I work for a guy who destroyed my arm?"

"I don't know. Because you're mad at us? Because you think we're always ignoring you?"

"I mean, yeah, I am upset that you guys ditched me for the new bloods, but that's not enough reason for me to turn rogue."

"Then why would you do assignments for him? I saw the message that he sent you."

"Message? What message? And why are you in my phone?"

"Because you're starting to not care, Leo, and I wanted to know why," Bree said defensively. She shook her head, the worry she felt from all those weeks coming back to her all at once. "The things you used to love, you don't care about anymore. You don't participate in trainings. You don't like going on missions. Bionics doesn't even amaze you anymore. You got…bored. It's like you didn't want anything to do with everything and everyone there."

"Not everyone. I still care about all of you," Leo said honestly. He took a deep breath, pondering about the words that he was about to say. "Here's the thing: now that we're all getting older, our interests are just… _not the same_ anymore. I know you know that. As it has happened to you and Adam and Chase, it's happened to me, too. I want different things now, different from the ones I used to want. But those don't change how I feel for all of you. The three of you will always be the best friends I've made. You'll always be my siblings, no matter where I go."

"No matter where you go?" It was then that she remembered the conversation between him and their father. The realization of what it had truly been about sank her heart. "You're leaving us, aren't you? That's what you were talking to Mr. Davenport about some nights ago."

Leo smiled sadly. "I got my acceptance letter that week. He doesn't want me to go either, but I've made up my mind," he said.

"Where are you going?"

"The state university." Seeing the expression on his sister's face, he said, "After watching you three with your classes, I started to want to teach, too."

"But you can, at the island."

"It's only a matter of time until everyone's caught up with everything. After that, where would I be?" he reasoned. He then somberly added, "Plus, Kitten's getting older."

"Kitten?"

"The person who has been sending me the assignments and packages," Leo said with a small smirk. "That's not his real name, but he's obsessed with cats so Tin Lizzie calls him Kitten. He's the mentor, ironically, of our small spoken word group. He teaches Literature at the university. Tin Lizzie, Diya, and Eric are in his class."

"Oh."

"He's been getting sicker and sicker. He tries to play it off like it's nothing, but we know he's worried. He's chosen Tin as his stand-in on days he couldn't make it, but he told us one day that he's gonna need to find a 'successor' to keep his group going."

"Is he considering you as a replacement?"

"Um, I'm not sure. He said he has top picks. Tin doesn't want to do it, and Diya's too shy to be able to manage everyone, including members older than her. I think Techno's slated for it, but he said that he may have to move with his wife and son to Indiana to be closer to his parents."

"So, you're going to step up for it."

Leo smiled. "I've only known them for a year, but the group has helped me to understand better what I want for myself. I kinda wanna do this for them," he said. "I told them I'm only going to be able to do it for two years, and they said they understand. They say they know I have something more important to do, and they won't hold me back."

"What do you have to do?"

"Helping people, for starters. When everyone at the island is reassigned, I would be, too. I don't want to waste what I've been given. The other part…I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

Leo shrugged. "It's not my plan to tell. It was just an offer that was made to me that I thought was a good idea," he said. "Don't worry. You'll know in time."

Strangely enough, Bree understood, and she didn't want to press for any more information. Still, the fact stands: "But you're going to leave us."

"Only for a little bit." Leo smiled widely. "And it's not like I can hide from you three, especially you. With your speed you're gonna find me wherever I am."

Bree chuckled, and finally her concerns regarding him left her. "You know I will," she said.

Leo grinned. He exhausted a breath then said, "Well, I don't know what your plans are after busting me, but we've got a performance tonight. We've got Techno, Tin, and Eric competing for this month's Monster of the Microphone title, and we would love to have another person in addition to the five people that usually attend our grand events."

Bree gaped, incredulous grin pulling at the edges of her lips. "Five?"

"Not including the waiter and the bartender," he responded.

"Are you reading something tonight?" she asked.

"Yep. It's just a short-ish piece. It's a conversation between Hope and Despair. I've been trying to talk Diya into reading one of the parts with me, but since you're here…"

Bree smiled. "As long as I get first pick."

Leo gestured widely and dramatically with his right hand towards the bistro before saying, "The stage awaits, Sister Dear."

Bree shook her head, laughing lightly as she led the way. "Fine, fine. I'm going," she said, secretly happy to support her brother in something that he loved.

 **END.**

* * *

 **Works Cited:**

 _Divergent,_ novel. Veronica Roth.

 _I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You,_ poem. Pablo Neruda. (Poem Hunter website)

 _The Flash._ DC Comics.

 _The Lion Guard._ Disney.

 _Winter_ and _The Prisoner of Cell 41798_ are both originals.

* * *

Full disclosure: this story is an invitation story.

At this moment, sign-ups for _So You Think You Can Write V_ is going on at Shadowplay. Just a quick background: Shadowplay is a graphics, coding, writing, and resources website. _SYTYCW_ is one of the many challenges there, but this one is different than the others in that it's centered on writing.

This challenge has four rounds, and they were all hinted at in each chapter of this story. Round one is poetry, two is fiction, three is fanfiction, and four is nonfiction. In each round, there are three prompts: a one word prompt, a picture prompt, and a phrase or sentence. Contestants must pick **one** of these prompts and write something based on it. All are given two weeks to submit an entry. After that, what has been received will be put up in a poll for voting.

This is an elimination challenge, so the number of contestants decreases every round. I know it sounds intimidating, but it's not bad. The people in Shadowplay are very supportive and kind, and they don't allow meanness there. I've been a member for four years, and I've had no problems. Those who get eliminated are only further encouraged to try again next game. We actually want the participants to come back when it restarts! (Meanwhile, there are other writing challenges to participate in while you wait.)

Currently, there are 17 writers who have signed-up, but we'd love to have more. If you're interested or just curious, send me a PM, and I'll do my best to clarify everything. If not, that's a-okay.

Sign-ups end on June 16. It will be open still until about July 1st, but by then you'll need to write a poem to get in. ;)

Alright, with my motives already explained, thanks again to those who had left reviews, favorited, and followed! Your support is always appreciated.


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